Healthy Skepticism Library item: 12737

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Marketing Overdose Campaign Films
PharmaLive 2008 Feb 4
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=511716&categoryid=9&newsletter=1

Full text:

Drug companies spend more than US $19 billion a year on marketing their pills and much of it is targeted at doctors.

Drugs, doctors and dinners is a new report from Consumers International highlighting irresponsible drug marketing to doctors in developing countries. Download a copy of the report here.

One tactic that is often used is to ply doctors with gifts. Big or small, the aim is to boost sales.

Industry codes are supposed to limit these gifts but research by Consumers International (CI) and its members shows that it is a system open to abuse.

Some doctors are also working for drug companies at the same time as prescribing drugs or being asked to give their opinion on a drug.

In other sectors it is usual for people in such positions to have to declare their conflict of interest.